No comments about An Icon Painter's Notebook: The Bolshakov Edition.

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No comments about Art As Spiritual Activity: Rudolf Steiner's Contribution to the Visual Arts (Vista Series, Vol 3).

1 comments about The Bible and the Saints (Flammarion Iconographic Guides).

1. I've looked around for 6 months for this type of guide book so was very pleased when I saw it in the giftshop of the Detroit Institute of Arts. They wanted $37 so Amazon's price of $20 is GREAT. The book is a succinct overview of the Christian saints and their imagery. If you enjoy Medieval or Renaissance Art, you've got to get this book. It gives you a tremendous cross-reference to identify the images to the saints. For example, if you see a wheel in the painting, you can look it up in the index. This will lead to Saint Catherine and gives a history of her. This is an in-depth and scholarly approach to Christian iconogarphy with lots of helpful pictures. Indispensable reference book!

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5 comments about Searching for Mary Magdalene: A Journey Through Art and Literature.

1. Lahr's book is a real treat. Not only are there dozens of full page reproductions of some of the most famous art works containing images of Mary Magdalene, the text itself is well written and, for the most part, historically correct. Then there are the occasional gems - an 11th century mosaic portraying Mary and the angel more like aliens. Moreover, Lahr offers large selections of text from just about every major document dealing with Mary Magdalene, from the 1st century through the 20th century.
   
   One criticism of this extremely valuable book is that a lot of the artistic analysis seems to be based on Lahr's own impressions, rather than giving us the painter's perspective. While Lahr's opinion is obviously of interest, I'd also like to know what the artists' intentions were.
   
   Another shortcoming is that there are many paintings of Magdalene that are not covered (I'm thinking, for example, of Rosetti's 1877 stunning portrait of the curly haired woman, or Da Vinci's sketches, or his very sexual Mary with breasts exposed). Instead, she has many paintings that do not include Mary, but focus instead on Jesus or the disciples. While this makes for a well rounded book, the title suggests that we'll focus on Mary.
   
   Another problem is that Lahr sometimes gives us a painting with no explanation, and often it's difficult to understand what's going on and to distinguish Mary Magdalene from the other characters. This problem happens, for example, in Ruben's "Resurrection of Lazarus."
   
   None of these minor criticisms should stop any serious student of Mary Magdalene from buying this book. It is a one-of-a-kind and very well done.



2. Mary Magdalene rules! I had no idea she is told in so many different stories-not only in the canonical gospels, the apocrypha, but also in poetry, stories, and songs. You don't need to look to the traditional bible to find her-she is everywhere. And these writers and poets knew this; all these years, all these centuries, they all knew. Her story is told everywhere. The church tried to suppress her and keep her hidden-in your dreams, jerks! The Magdalene was never quiet, nor will she ever keep quiet. Long may the Magdalene reign!



3. In accepting Jane Lahr's invitation to time travel through centuries of artists and writers whose attention to Mary Magdalene illuminates profound truths, this is a transforming read, a moment in which to reflect on beauty and truth and really what it is that we do need to know in life. Exquisitely rendered by Lahr's finely tuned sensibility and scholarship, this book is a blessing and a great gift.



4. A beautifully illustrated work of original scholarship, Searching For Mary Magdalene: A Journey Through Art And Literature by author and editor Jane Lahr is an in-depth and comprehensive detailing of the modern and historical history of the enigmatic Mary Magdalene as reflected through the literature and art of the last two millennia. Introducing readers to a collective survey study drawn from historical writers, philosophers, artists, and scholars, Searching For Mary Magdalene accessibly presents a concise and intricate descriptive analysis of Magdalene based upon the many known resources. Searching For Mary Magdalene is very highly recommended to non-specialist general readers with an interest in a life and history of Mary Magdalene.



5. A beautifully illustrated work of original scholarship, Searching For Mary Magdalene: A Journey Through Art And Literature by author and editor Jane Lahr is an in-depth and comprehensive detailing of the modern and historical history of the enigmatic Mary Magdalene as reflected through the literature and art of the last two millennia. Introducing readers to a collective survey study drawn from historical writers, philosophers, artists, and scholars, Searching For Mary Magdalene accessibly presents a concise and intricate descriptive analysis of Magdalene based upon the many known resources. Searching For Mary Magdalene is very highly recommended to non-specialist general readers with an interest in a life and history of Mary Magdalene.

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